Darkwater Theme Mat Review

TESTING OUT A NEW MAT FOR DYSTOPIAN WARS FROM DEEP CUT STUDIO

After several year of use, I have decided to give my hand-painted board a rest and invest in a printed mat - the Darkwater Theme Mat from Deep Cut Studios. This mat in particular is cloth rather than vinyl or mouse-pad material, and came well-packaged in a sealable plastic bag that can be stored easily.

I chose the Deepwater Theme Mat rather than other mats from different companies because it had the right shade of blue/green - something that looked dark and foreboding, a grim North Sea blue rather than some luxurious Caribbean blue that you see on so many other printed mats. Deep Cut Studios were the only company that provided such a colour at the time of purchase.

In terms of quality the colour and pattern seem excellent, aside from the imperfection of a rogue line across a portion of the mat. I trust this is a random issue and not something others will encounter. The mat can be ironed without risk, which is good as it needs to be folded for storage, though is not ideal to have to iron the board every time I want to play!

Originally I chose the cloth mat as I imagined it would be of similar material to the Games Workshop Dreadfleet cloth, which is lovely and does not need to be ironed after storage. In hindsight, and with the experience from my mousepad-material mats from Microart Studio, I would favour them every time.

Price-wise, the Deep Cut Studio mats are largely in line with other manufacturers - cheaper than Frontline Gaming, for example, though the prices do rise depending on the material you choose. Shipping from Europe was in line with my expectations, though I cannot comment on beyond.

Delivery was fine (within two weeks) and the product was packaged well. I have ordered PVC mats from this company in the past, and these have also arrived within expected times, and in good condition.

Overall, I am pretty satisfied with my purchase, though I will be getting in contact with them about the mystery line. I trust after some recent disputes about product quality they will answer my query quickly and efficiently.

With the benefit of hindsight, I would always choose to invest in a mousepad material board - the strength and quality of the final product is superior, and the storage difficulties are minimal. It is heavy enough to sit on the table without needing to be secured, and not having to iron the mat every time I want to play would be enough to justify the extra cost! Obviously this is not a fault of Deep Cut Studios but my own for buying the cloth - just a word of warning to those who have not invested in their own yet.

The 6x4 Dark Ocean Mat from Deep Cut Studio

Symbol in the far corner - I believe you can request these not be printed on the mat if you wish

Imperfection! This rogue line runs across a portion of the mat. Justification for a replacement? Probably

General texture and colour is fine - mottled deep sea blue with small crests perfect for the scale of Dystopian Wars

In photographs, the mat seems to vary in colour wildly depending on the light. Hopefully this will not be an issue in future Battle Reports and the like.

For more pictures, check out my latest Battle Report!

Thanks for reading, 

George